Sudan's Year-Long War Sparks Crisis of 'Epic Proportions,' U.N. Political Chief Says

The year-old war in Sudan between rival generals vying for power has sparked "a crisis of epic proportions" fueled by weapons from foreign supporters who continue to disregard U.N. sanctions aimed at helping end the conflict, the U.N. political chief said Friday. The war has caused 14,000 deaths and displaced 8.6 million people.

U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo painted a grim picture of the war's impact, with over 14,000 people killed, tens of thousands wounded, impending famine with 25 million people in need of life-saving assistance, and over 8.6 million forced to flee their homes. "The war has set the country back several decades, and it will take more than a generation to rebuild Sudan to its pre-war state," DiCarlo said.

The conflict is fueled by weapons from foreign supporters who continue to disregard U.N. sanctions. The African Union's Mohamed Ibn Chambas said external support for the warring parties "is the elephant in the room." DiCarlo emphasized that this foreign support is "illegal, it is immoral, and it must stop."

Why this matters: The war in Sudan has caused immense suffering for the Sudanese people and threatens to destabilize the entire region. The international community must take urgent action to end the conflict and hold those responsible for fueling it accountable.

The Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary has carried out brutal attacks on ethnic African civilians in the Darfur region, and the violence poses an extreme danger to the 800,000 civilians in the city of El Fasher. The U.N. political chief and the chair of the African Union panel on Sudan have called for intensified efforts to bring peace, including a comprehensive mediation and peacemaking strategy. The U.N. Secretary-General's envoy has proposed a meeting with African and Arab organizations to develop this strategy, while the African Union is appealing to countries in the region not to support either side and is organizing an inclusive political dialogue to prepare for a post-war transition to democratic governance.

Key Takeaways

• War in Sudan between rival generals has caused 14,000 deaths, 8.6M displaced.
• Conflict fueled by foreign weapons, violating UN sanctions, says UN political chief.
• War has set Sudan back decades, will take a generation to rebuild, per UN.
• Arab-led RSF forces carry out brutal attacks on ethnic African civilians in Darfur.
• UN, AU call for intensified efforts to bring peace, including mediation strategy.